Last Resort
by robert3A-SN
Summary: Jeff wants to warn Annie when he overhears the shallow intentions of a young man she's tutoring. But then he realizes he isn't a believable source due to his past jealousy, and he can't think of any way around that – yet it may not be necessary anyway.


**Somewhat inspired by Hypnotoad76's "When Attraction Becomes Dangerous"**

Jeff was actually doing well to ignore this, all things considered.

True, Annie was tutoring someone in one of her non-Biology classes, and he was male at that. True, the guy wasn't ugly enough for someone to never be sexually attracted to; if only barely, in his opinion. True, Annie and this guy Gus were spending more and more 'tutoring sessions" together – which Jeff had to put in quotation marks.

But using quotation marks was all Jeff was doing about it. After all, he and the group had a lot of hi-jinks to catch up on after winter break, so his time doing things and avoiding doing things was stretched thin already. So this new Annie thing really did get lost among Jeff's non hair and ab-care related concerns.

Then Jeff just had to be in earshot one Friday when Gus told his friends he was "hot for tutor." For good measure, he used other questionable terms to show how he wanted to sleep with Annie – and that this was _all _he planned to do with her. Fortunately for Gus's spine, Jeff had to get to class at that very second.

Since biology and lunch was already over and Jeff wouldn't see Annie until the end of the day, he had to stew for a while longer. Spine crunching fantasies helped him get through his last classes, then he had to actually work out what'd he say to Annie. Jeff hoped what he'd ultimately worked out would suffice as he found her in the lounge area.

"Jeff, I'm sorry, but can this wait?" Annie requested when he found her. "I'm doing a big session with Gus in a little while, so I have to get ready."

"You're, you're tutoring him _now? _On a _Friday_?" Jeff managed to say somewhat calmly.

"Yeah, he figured if we did a lot of work now, he could relax the rest of the weekend. That didn't make much sense to me, for a number of reasons. But if it works, that's great, and if not, I can lord it over him next time!" Annie reasoned. Yet Jeff knew that if Gus got what he _really _wanted, he'd hump and dump her before any next time, and Annie would be crying for one reason or another.

"Annie-" Jeff started, fully intending to tell her what he heard. But suddenly, he found himself doing something only Annie did – think ahead before doing something.

He saw himself telling Annie everything, followed by Annie doubting it and saying she never heard Gus act like that. Then when Jeff kept insisting he only wanted one thing from her, Annie would say…..some kind of remark about jealousy. Or that Jeff was being paranoid, or that at least Gus _accepted _that he was attracted to Annie. No matter what he said, it would trigger a big fight that would end up being more about Jeff than Gus – and Jeff would lose.

But this time Jeff _really _was going to warn her about some scumbag guy! And yet…..because of his past warnings about non-scumbags, and lower life forms like Rich….Annie wouldn't believe him. They'd just fight, rehash old wounds, and Annie would sprint towards Gus and willingly ignore every rotten sign about him, just to prove Jeff wrong.

There was no way to win here. Fortunately, although it felt like he figured this out in five minutes, it took just five seconds in real time. Otherwise Annie would be even more suspicious of Jeff's silence. "Jeff?" she only had to ask once before he came up with backup words.

"Just be sure to get home quickly, okay? You don't want to leave Abed by himself for too long….he might drink water after midnight or something," Jeff commented.

"You mixed up your 'Gremlins' rules, Jeff, but I get it," Annie said without seeming suspicious. "Tell him I should be back before dinner, okay?" she requested and then left with a smile.

Jeff sighed, walking out of Greendale in a fog. He couldn't believe he left Annie alone to get harassed, or God knows what else. He tried to ignore his head voices saying it was his fault for being untrustworthy, that maybe Annie might like one-night stands now, that it would have been her own fault for not listening, that Gus didn't say he'd make his move tonight – and that Annie didn't _have _to be that available for him. Instead, he tried to think of how he could warn Annie and not look like the lying, jealous bad guy, in case he still had time.

But it would take a master screenwriter to jump through those hoops. Or maybe a master fan.

Thankfully, Abed would be all alone to approve his plans. Annie was out tutoring and Troy was heading to his parents for the weekend, as part of his monthly time apart period from Abed so they wouldn't be giant cookies. Or some crazy term Jeff didn't have time to remember. Anyway, the main takeaway was he needed to speak to Abed.

"Abed, how would you like to have a fun Friday afternoon without Troy?" Jeff asked when he finally caught up to Abed before he got into his car.

"A logic defying premise, but go on," Abed answered.

"Annie's tutoring a guy who I know only wants to sleep with her. But I can't tell her I heard him say that because then she'll think I'm making it up, because I'm jealous. Which I'm not. Now, is there a movie that shows how I can tell her this stuff and make her believe me?" Jeff inquired.

"You could admit you were jealous all those other times you complained about her love life. Then you could tell her the truth about this guy, and she'd have more reason to believe you," Abed theorized. But when Jeff's face stayed blank, Abed corrected himself. "Oh right, you're not that far ahead in your character arc yet. I let my fanboy side get carried away again. Don't worry, I can value how you're staying in character now."

From anyone else, that would sound like sarcasm and a not-so-subtle message to Jeff. Fortunately, he was only talking to Abed. "Good, so I guess we go ahead with my first plan. Me brainstorming ideas until you find one that didn't fail in movies or television," Jeff exclaimed while trying not to sound relieved.

This sounded fool proof, as Abed would surely remember how every idea failed in movies or TV, until Jeff found one that didn't. Then he'd use it and he'd make Annie see the truth without the "j" word coming up at all.

But two hours later, Jeff was all but banging his head on the Trobed kitchen table, as his 42'nd idea had been turned down. This time it was because it failed in some 1960's sitcom episode. "Oh come on, Annie's not going to recognize that!" Jeff insisted in vein.

"If she watched that episode later than a week ago on old sitcom marathon night, I'd agree. But she didn't, so you shouldn't risk it," Abed warned.

"All right, all right, I got it now! I get Dean Pelton to dress up as a female student, and he'll tell Annie that Gus harassed 'her'! You can use extra makeup to disguise his face, and we'll use some kind of female auto tune to make him sound even girlier! Granted, I'll owe him some unpleasant favors, but we'll worry about that when Gus is 1,000 feet away from Annie at all times!" Jeff cheered.

"Jeff, that sounds way too much like the idea you had 52 minutes ago. Don't you remember how it didn't work on that early 80's favorite?" Abed pointed out, which made Jeff get sick.

"Ugh, _now _I do! And there goes the _good _side effect of me blocking it out!" With that, Jeff sat back down and let his body language concede defeat for him. All of his idea were either implausible in real life, implausible even by TV standards, or just didn't work even in so-called realistic shows. If Abed's super movie and TV brain couldn't find a logical, pop culture friendly loophole, he was screwed – to use the worst term of phrase.

He was right back where he started, only Gus had probably made his move already. If something happened to Annie and he made her cry, it would be Jeff's fault for not warning her – and for not being reliable enough on this issue for her to believe. Yet he found he didn't worry about the blame….as the phrase "If something happened to her" upset him even more.

Normally if misfortune befell someone, even a friend, he was still more relieved if it wasn't his fault – or if it couldn't be proven it was. Yet with this situation, and with Annie….

Fortunately, a noise snapped him out of it. But it was 50/50 on whether it was fortunate that it was Annie coming in. "Jeff? What are you…." Well, her tone didn't sound traumatized, just surprised. But she trailed off, so that could be for surprise, or shame, or slow anger, or some other unpleasant emotion.

"Did Gus learn anything new from you?" Jeff carefully asked. He figured that was innocent and unsuspicious enough – then he saw Annie's hands shake a little. She stopped them after a brief second, but now Jeff had to use more effort to stop _his_ hands from moving.

After a few more seconds, Annie sighed and started, "I guess I'd have to tell you eventually. Well, at least the wait won't ruin what's left of my weekend."

_After a good but somewhat brief hour-and-a-half review of Gus's last assignments and upcoming projects, Annie thought they were really making progress. Once he really proved it, Annie couldn't help but jump up and congratulate him. It involved a hug, but she did that for everyone who actually listened to her study advice._

_Yet they normally didn't lean in and kiss her once she started to pull away. When Gus did, Annie frowned deeply in offense and slight confusion. "Gus, what was that supposed to be?" she asked._

"_A reward for you being a good tutor. And if you wanted to reward me for being a good student, it wouldn't be the worst idea," Gus tried to smoothly say._

"_Well, it's pretty close, so….let's just review one more time before we go, okay?" Annie tried to say as nonchalantly as she could._

"_Come on, you technically threw yourself at me first. And it's been hell trying not to crack around you. So I think that earns double rewards," Gus rationalized as he got nearer to Annie. "Annie, we've spent all this time 'studying'….who does it that long if they don't want rewards at the end?"_

"_I do! And the fact that you compared studying to…." Annie started before shuddering. "You know what, I don't think you need a review after all, we're good!" she said with more worry._

"_No….we should do more reviewing. You teased me by spending all this time with me, in those teasing cardigans of yours. Don't back out now that we can stop playing games," Gus insisted._

"_Games are fun, and this isn't fun, so logically this isn't a game! Point for me, so we're done!" Annie called out while looking around for anyone near the library._

"_Annie, its officially after school hours. You're the only one who likes staying here this long, especially on a Friday. Unless they want some….extra-curricular activity," Gus punctuated by getting closer to her and moving his arms into position around her. "It's okay, no one can hear us, we can be as loud as we want. Then we'll get louder the next few times, I promise….." he trailed off as he buried his face in her neck and trapped her arms._

"_Stop that! Help, help!" Annie called out before Gus kissed her on the lips and she realized that no one was probably nearby. She started to officially struggle, yet Gus had a firm grip on her. Fortunately, he spent more time holding onto her than drifting his hands any lower, but that would likely change soon._

_Gus finally broke off and went to devour Annie's neck, as she resumed yelling to no avail. As no one came, she was about ready to break down for being in this position, and for being so stupid to put herself here. How did she miss the signs? Why didn't Jeff say anything….unless he…._

_Leaving him aside, why was this happening to her? Why couldn't she meet nice guys who didn't ignore her, or objectify her, or make up reasons not to like her, or like her for the wrong reasons, or who would grope her without permission? But no, she always had to attract the wrong guy, or get attracted to the wrong guy, and now it was culminating in this! The whole picture was really starting to make her angry….even angrier than in her —_

_Oh wait. That's right. She was taking self-defense classes._

_Annie took a few deep breaths and willed herself to touch Gus's waist romantically. After a few more moments, Gus loosened his grip, seemingly satisfied that Annie was into this. This allowed her to get her hand up to his neck, rub it a little bit – and then use the opening to strike him in the Adam's apple._

_A hurt and shocked Gus was knocked a few steps back, which allowed Annie to get into position, give him a left and right to the chest – then a kick to the groin to knock him on his knees. Before he rolled on the floor, Annie kicked him there again – which still hurt although he covered it with his hands this time._

_Gus rolled on the floor in pain, so Annie moved on with her verbal fury."You….you giant jerkhead!" Okay, maybe she was too rattled to come up with her best insults. "You should be expelled or arrested for this!" Well, that was marginally better and to the point._

"_You kidding? There's no one here, and your creepy robot friend doesn't have hidden cameras here!" Damm, of all times for Abed to repair his hidden cameras…."It's your word against mine, you know!" he called, still more verbal than Annie although he got kicked in the no-no place._

_Now Annie's fury came back, due to his confidence, his insult of Abed and the notion that her word wasn't trustworthy enough. And suddenly, a whole series of words and ideas poured out of her without even thinking._

"_You're right, it's my word….and who do you think is going to hear it? Dean Pelton! And one of the only school-related things he takes seriously is sexual harassment! Once I tell him, he'll go nuts on you just to avoid all the bad press and new lawsuit loopholes! And if he needs more, I'll just Disney face him….or threaten to Disney face the board of trustees if he's not convinced!" With that, Annie went on full on Disney face mode – and by looking like she was on the verge of tears, she actually got out a few real ones to clear her system. Then she somehow got them under control and went back to being intimidating – truly intimidating this time._

"_No one'll doubt my word with that face. And if that's still not enough, there's someone the Dean will listen to more than me! I can make the Dean make your life a living hell if I have to! But if I have my best friend do it….you'll beg me to put you in handcuffs myself! And not in the sick way!" Annie punctuated, as things finally sank in for Gus._

"_You come near me again, and I will destroy you in one or all of those ways! And if I hear about you doing this to anyone else, even someone I don't know, I'll think up a few new ones while I'm at it! Okay?" Annie demanded, then raised her foot to kick him again. "Okay?"_

"_Okay, okay!" Gus conceded, either from being scared of Annie's threats or her feet. Regardless, Annie got her stuff and left while she was still running on adrenaline. She hoped the cafeteria was still open so she could cry there when she gave out, instead of doing it at home._

"At least I only had to cry for 12 minutes in the cafeteria. So when I finished, I came back here…..and now we're here," Annie wrapped up.

"Abed, do you still have that 'Raiders' boulder replica? I need to borrow it and….put it up a few things," Jeff ominously said.

"Jeff, no! I threatened him with that stuff, I wasn't planning to _do it _yet!" Annie reminded. "I'd _love _to do all that, yeah, but that would be too easy for him! It'd end way too quickly, and I want him to really squirm _forever_! Or just three more semesters, at least! But this way he'll be too scared to do this to me or anyone ever again…..at least on campus. At least I hope so…." Annie trailed of, doubting herself until she shook it off. "No, no he knows how powerful my Disney face and the Dean's man-crush are."

"Well, maybe shoving up just _one _place will remind him, then!" Jeff countered. "At least give me that! I let this happen, I should get one free shot before you shove things in me too!" Jeff grimaced at his imagery, before realizing he might have said too much.

"Okay, this topic has gone beyond my ability to contribute. It went beyond that minutes ago, but now that I know Annie's okay, I'm more comfortable making a strategic retreat. Jeff, you can handle this from here," Abed motioned before getting up, then hesitated before patting Annie on the head.

Jeff got uncomfortable reminders of when _he_ did that – for a few reasons. But it was actually less awkward coming from _Abed _by comparison, and Annie didn't seem to mind. Then she turned to Jeff after her brief smile faded.

"Jeff, when you talked to me a few hours ago, were you going to say something about Gus? I kind of guessed it after I stopped crying in the cafeteria….was I right?" Jeff instinctively tried to think of a creative lie or sidestep to Annie's question. But given how their last conversation went, what he just gave away and the still unexplained fact that he was in Annie's apartment, he saw no way out. So he sighed and got ready to take his medicine.

"I might have heard him say he wanted to have sex with you and then…..retire from you, a few hours ago," Jeff tried to class up. "But there was no way_ I _could say it without you thinking I was just being jealous. Abed was very explicit on it….on 43 separate occasions."

Jeff then realized he did leave out an important part. "But he didn't say _anything _about doing….._that _if you turned him down! Even I didn't think he was that suicidal!"

"But you knew he didn't have…..pure intentions towards me," Annie recapped.

"Would you have believed_ me_ without any proof if I said that?" Jeff asked, truly trying not to attack her or start an argument. But when Annie hesitated, Jeff had his answer. "Exactly. And look where it ended up."

"Jeff, are you-" Fortunately, Jeff saw his error before Annie could finish. "No, no, that's not your fault!" he jumped in. He _could _lawyer her and blame her for wrongly accusing him of jealousy so many times. But that really wouldn't work at a time like this…..and Jeff found he didn't really want it to.

"It ended up that way because I cried big bad wolf too many times. So why should you trust me even if I saw a real one?" Jeff sighed and saw something else in a new light. "You hinted to him that I was your best friend….well, that's the only laugh from tonight, isn't it? If that was true, I would have warned you about him immediately, no matter what. And I wouldn't have gotten jealous all those times and discredited myself either."

"You….admit you were jealous?" Annie got out of that. Despite opening up more, Jeff was still embarrassed when he realized what he admitted. But he couldn't completely backtrack either. "Well…._this time _I wasn't jealous so much as I was worried about you. For real this time. But how could I make you believe I was telling the truth this time?"

"And you came here to figure out how to do that? For two hours?" Annie double checked.

"Well, it's not like _that _worked either. And it turns out you were kicking ass while I ripped off plans from 70s sitcoms!" Jeff lamented.

"Oh…..well, 70s sitcom night was two weeks ago, so that probably _wouldn't _have worked on me," Annie somehow nitpicked.

"See, there you go, that didn't work on you and neither did Gus's crap! I freaked out about trying to save you and make you believe me….and you didn't need saving in the first place! You….you've _never_ really needed saving…." Jeff finally admitted. "Even if you did, why would you need it from me? If I didn't have the track record to warn you about him, how _could _I have saved you? All I am is a last resort for you, if _that _much."

"But you _did _stop yourself because you didn't want to look jealous anymore," Annie said after pausing. "Then you spent all afternoon worrying about me….and you really _didn't _know he'd go that far."

"I just knew he'd use you and leave you….trust me, I know his style," Jeff commented. "I lived that style for years….I bragged about it to friends just like he did. It takes one womanizing jackass to know another."

"Jeff, you could never be him," Annie insisted while frowning. "You may have used women, but you _never _did what he did! And I know you never would!"

Well, this much was true. While he did lie and cheat to get women in the past, Jeff still knew that no meant no. He would never force himself on an unwilling woman….and the thought of him or _anyone _doing that to Annie made him sick. As much as Jeff let her down or worse sometimes, he knew this was one line he would never cross. Not with her, and not after all the rotten luck she's had with guys, even before tonight.

If he ever wanted to get that close to her, he would do it right. Not that he wanted it – but this was in a hypothetical universe where it could happen. He didn't _want _this to happen, of course….he just….couldn't.

But if he _did, _parallel universe Jeff would treat Annie like the princess she was. Actually, warrior princess was more like it, considering tonight's story.

But she wouldn't have to be a warrior here – she'd be wined and dined like regular Annie deserved to be years ago. He would order her favorite foods, or use his connections to get them on the menu. He'd have music playing at their table, he'd make an effort to listen to her, he'd needle her and even let her tease him back, and he'd find a polite way to refuse her offers to dance. At least he hoped he'd refuse that way…..if he did refuse. And then….

Jeff stopped his train of thought, remembering that this described parallel Jeff, not real Jeff. Parallel Jeff did all the things that real Jeff never even _thought _about doing on a date. He just wasn't that kind of person – as he told himself the past few times he imagined this.

But this time…..the feeling he got from remembering that wasn't relief. It was regret.

It had to be some leftover guilt talking, though. Some crazy, irrational part of him that said if he dated Annie in the first place, she wouldn't have to fend off monsters like Gus. He just admitted he was jealous, and that was a big enough step. Annie would move on and find someone who would give her that stuff….someone who would see her light up and give her the dream date with a dream guy that she always wanted. All that stuff she should have gotten long ago…..stuff she probably didn't even obsess over now, but should still like to have anyway.

When that happened, she'd obviously tell Jeff about it, or tell someone that would tell him. But it wouldn't be the same as seeing it….

Damnit. Now he wished he could see it.

But that couldn't happen – not with a kid and a friend and someone who didn't deserve another lying jerk! Not with…..someone who kicked the crap out of a grabby psycho, and made clear he'd lose his will to live _without _Jeff's help. Not with someone who had 10 times more guts than he ever did, especially tonight….even before tonight. Not with someone who was supposed to be ruined by someone like Jeff…..but who wasn't ruined at all by someone even worse….

"Jeff? Jeff, you know I know you're not Gus, right?" he finally heard Annie say. This made him remember that he didn't answer before going off into his universe. "Huh? Oh, right, right, I know that!"

"I hope so...if you were anything like him, you wouldn't worry about my safety that much. Or at all, for that matter," Annie reinforced.

"Of course I worry about you. I can't help it because…." Jeff stopped himself again – either because he didn't know what to say, or he knew exactly what. But after leaving it like that, Annie was expecting him to finish. So he had to come up with something – yet none of his standbys seemed appropriate. He certainly couldn't say the condescending ones after tonight…..and even the mildly flattering ones seemed inadequate.

Jeff already disappointed Annie enough tonight, even though she hadn't technically said anything to that effect. But that only made it worse how he'd let her down and wasn't really there for her, although she didn't need him to be. She didn't need him to make her happy or save her….which made him feel less relieved and more….upset. Upset that he couldn't make her happy and safe anyway, even though he wanted to. What did _that_ say?

Jeff bought time by stammering "Because, I mean, you…." so Annie might stay quiet long enough for him to think. Yet as much as he tried to, each of his thoughts led to one conclusion – no matter how many angles he looked at it from.

Damnit, why did he have these epiphanies _now_? And he would just string Annie along anyway, since he couldn't say them after a night like this. Yet he couldn't let her down _again_ on a night like this – if ever again. But he still couldn't say why or give her more to go on, even now. "Damnit, why can't I say this stuff just _once?_" Jeff muttered before he could stop – or see that Annie heard him.

Yet after he asked that, he saw Annie start to smile a little – one of her genuine, soft, not so blinding but still…..affecting smiles. "Because I'm important to you," she reasoned.

She was even throwing him a lifeline on _this _as well. Perhaps since he all but gave away that she meant…._something _to him, instead of denying it like usual, it was enough for her. It wasn't really enough, but compared to the past, it was huge – at least for her at this time.

"We might disagree on how much sometimes, but I _do_ know that I mean _something _to you. That really, _really _means a lot in times like this. No matter how many Gus's are out there, I still have you in some way and I always will….and Abed, Troy, Britta, Shirley and even Pierce too. It really balances things out….it wasn't always like that for me, but it is now," Annie reminisced.

"Well, none of that is ever going to change again. _None _of it," Jeff said before he could stop himself. He wasn't supposed to be more sentimental than Annie, even after these last few minutes. And yet it didn't sound or feel bad while he said it; not even just because Annie needed to hear it after today.

In any case, she was smiling now, and that was always better than the alternative – and a lot of other things. She got up and stood over a sitting Jeff, which made him more relieved – then he smacked him on the shoulder. Not with a playful slap like usual, but with her fist – and Jeff already knew that those things could _hurt_, even before her story.

"Then you _tell _me things from now on, okay? Even if I don't believe you or we fight about it, you _tell_ me! You owe me that much of a head's up!" Annie demanded.

"Okay, okay, you're right, I do!" Jeff admitted as he rubbed his shoulder a bit. Soon he did it more for dramatic effect than feeling pain, which eventually made Annie crack a smile in spite of herself. Now that she wasn't as mad, Jeff repeated, "You're right, I do. I really do, and I'll….try to really will."

"Well, that doesn't excuse the bad grammar, but thanks anyway," Annie seriously teased. But she softened and bent down to seal the deal with a hug. Jeff put an arm around her back in response, trying to ignore how….everything else felt against him.

"I really am sorry, you know," Jeff repeated out of nowhere – although these sappy declarations were less annoying now. "But I am really, _really _proud of you, k….." Jeff stopped that sappy declaration before he could say "kiddo" like always. He just made sounds for several seconds until he got to one that set him up to say "young lady" instead.

"There, was that so hard to say?" Annie asked as she pulled back. As Jeff stared into her face again and took in everything that happened, he conceded, "No. Not at all."

Annie smiled back at him like nothing had happened. Although he'd dropped the ball today, she bailed herself out in the greatest way possible, and had enough to bail him out too. She assured Jeff that he was still leagues better than Gus – but just being better by comparison to a pervert was inadequate. He wanted to be a little better than that bare minimum. And he wanted Annie to have _so _much better than that bare minimum.

There really might be just one way to get both these things. And as implausible and….a little tiny bit scary as it was before….it didn't seem that way now.

Jeff found himself taking a breath, about to blurt out a question. Yet Annie stepped away and went over to Abed, who was sitting at his recliner. "Okay Abed, we're done with our 'special episode' stuff now!"

"Cool cool cool. Are we doing an ultra wacky episode to balance it out now?" Abed inquired.

"Maybe tomorrow, after I rest up from today. Then after that, we'll welcome Troy back on Sunday as planned, okay?"Abed gave an approving nod as Jeff saw the two talk quieter for a moment. Then Anne seemed to reassure Abed in some way, before briefly hugging him and then turning back to Jeff.

"So you're turning in, eh?" Jeff checked, hoping it was only because she was tired.

"Yeah. If I still have tears, I'd rather cry in bed and not wreck 80's body swapping movie night," Annie reasoned. "I'll be completely fine by Monday, though."

"Well, the group won't know about this either way," Jeff assured before glancing at Troy and Abed's "Raiders" diorama again. "Seriously, I can't take the boulder with me _just _in case?"

"No, no….besides, I called dibs in my head on the ride home," Annie bragged. Jeff pouted both comically and seriously as Annie led him to the door. "Well….if you don't need me, then…." Jeff started.

"I _always_ need you, Jeff…..even when I don't really _need _you. But we can both recharge our neediness until Monday," Annie promised. She smiled until Jeff finally gave in and returned it, then Annie gave out one more little hug before Jeff made himself leave.

Annie still smiled as Jeff closed the door, which astonished him after what she went through and relived. Either she was getting better at hiding her tears, or she really was feeling okay. Jeff briefly thought he heard some sort of deep exhale from behind the door moments later, but he couldn't trust himself to have heard right.

He did know that no one could think to touch Annie like that again. And there seemed to be only two surefire ways to do it. She could never date again, which was unlikely – no matter how many ways he wondered how that could work. Or there was the….formerly unthinkable option.

It was still unthinkable in a few ways even now. But it meant less than one overwhelming fact – that Annie should never have to prove her strength like she did tonight ever again. And at least _one _man needed to give her the romance she should have had long ago. And if the rest of mankind was _still _too stupid to realize just who was right in front of it….

And if Jeff _really _didn't want his jealousy, and lack of trustworthiness, to be _that_ costly again….

He decided he'd wait two weeks to actually ask her out, so it didn't look like something out of guilt or pity. 10 days at the least. Maybe six.


End file.
